Birmingham University Warns Academics are Being Poached Due to Brexit

Birmingham University has warned that European colleges are trying to poach academics from British universities because of the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

The university also suggested European academics had withdrawn from job applications due to a lack of clarity about the UK's future relations with the EU.

The warnings were reported in a paper submitted by the university to the Commons Education Committee, which conducted an inquiry into how Brexit was affecting the higher education sector.

Birmingham University employs over 7,000 staff from more than 150 nationalities. It told MPs: "We are deeply concerned at the lack of clarity for our EU staff and there have been a number of instances where potential highly-skilled EU academics have withdrawn from recruitment processes citing Brexit.

"We also have examples of our EU academics being targeted for recruitment by European universities."

The university estimate that overseas students, including those from the EU, contribute £408 million to the West Midlands economy, helping to sustain 5,180 jobs in the region and beyond.

Birmingham University have asked the Government to run a campaign encouraging students to come and study in the UK. They suggested a stronger marketing focus to ensure the UK's higher education sector doesn't lose market share to other countries.

Similar concerns were raised by Newcastle University, with Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof Tony Stevenson, saying: "The Government have the narrative of global Britain open for business and we seem to be doing something different in the immigration space for students."